“Holy God, preserve me!” I whispered hard.
I heard stumbling behind me and tried to move so that I could also see the other two, when the same sorcerer swung out again. I ducked but he managed to hit one knife out of my hand and it went flying, sticking point down in the grass. I yanked my sword out of its scabbard, reckoning new weapon or not, it was time to learn fast. “Come on, whoresons.”
I backed up to give myself room to use the longer blade. One of the sorcerers that had collided managed to get up again and move around the bench. He swung with his cudgel but he was still groggy and overreached. I shifted and lifted a foot, pushing him into a tree. Once more his head met an unyielding object and he sprawled on the ground. I was left facing two attackers who had spread out. I feinted towards one, watching for the other and as he stayed put, I spun and slashed at him. I sensed movement and pivoted once more, bringing my sword around and catching the first under the ear.
My old sword would have sliced through the muscle, bone and sinew of the attacker’s neck. Even if he had worn mail, my old sword still would’ve struck him a blow serious enough to hinder him from fighting. But that was my old sword. My new sword shattered on impact and all I held was the tasseled hilt. The sorcerer I’d hit made a sound and I realized that he was laughing without a tongue. The other joined in, both gobbling in their throats. I flung the hilt aside and lifted my remaining knife, only to hear the third one on the other side of the bench. I glanced over and saw he had risen to his feet, and was moving to join his fellows.
Three against one armed only with a knife that was small enough to fit into a boot sheath were never good odds and at that moment I should’ve been focused on my immediate future. And I was. But at my feet were the remnants of my sword blade twinkling in the weak light, to my side was Lord Esclaur drugged or poisoned, and before me were three tongueless pantomime villains, laughing. All in my cousin’s house. I slowly straightened from my fighter’s crouch and raised my hand. “Truth,” I said, shutting my eyes.
I noted in a detached way that, as the tongueless sorcerers could laugh, they could also scream if given enough incentive. And while usually there’s a point where the senses are overwhelmed and the screamer passes out, they didn’t. Their screams went on and on. It finally occurred to me that I might’ve had something to do with that, and lowered my hand. The screams dwindled into sobbing and I Cautiously opened my eyes to see them curled up on the ground, their arms over their heads, still clutching their cudgels. After a moment, I moved from sorcerer to sorcerer, removing clubs and masks. The one who had run into the tree was still unconscious. The one I had stabbed was dead. I checked Lord Esclaur and he was alive, but his breathing was shallow, his pulse rapid and faint. I retrieved my other knife, using one of the sorcerer’s robes to clean it, but only sheathed the one in my boot. I loaded the cudgels, masks, blade pieces and hilt into my cape and made a bundle. I then slung Esclaur over my shoulder, picked up the bundle and knife, and went to find help.
Chapter Thirty-five
“Five attackers,” Suiden said, resting his haunches on his heels as he examined the broken sword, cudgels and masks spread out on my cape. Captain Javes stood behind him, also staring down at the cape, his hands in his trouser pockets.
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
Laurel was tending Lord Esclaur who was lying in Groskin’s old bunk in Jeff’s and my bedroom—the only place where there was an empty bed. The Faena questioned me about the symptoms and then, after sniffing closely at the lordling’s breath, concocted a noxious smelling brew that he managed to get down Esclaur’s throat by using a kitchen funnel.
“Do not worry, Rabbit,” Laurel said. “It is a strong poison, but Lord Esclaur got only a small amount and this dose should render it impotent.” Should is not would, I thought, but I nodded and, at the captains’ command, began to tell them what happened. When I got to the part where my sword shattered, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
“He wasn’t wearing a hauberk?” Javes asked. He hunkered down beside Suiden and picked up the sword hilt.
“No, sir. I checked.”
“The sword was weakened, Javes, and the edge blunted,” Suiden said, easily breaking a piece off the blade. “More brittle than nut candy.” He then stood and sighed. “It could’ve been done any time between last night and when he got dressed this evening.” He shrugged, his face tired. “It could even be another sword. It’s new to Rabbit and he wouldn’t have known the difference.”
Laurel’s ears lay back and he rumbled as he wiped Lord Esclaur’s face with a cloth dipped in something that smelled clean. I wandered over and put my fingers into the bowl, bringing them up to my nose and inhaling.
“Please continue,” Suiden said.
It was quiet enough to hear a feather drop two streets away when I got to the next part. I dipped my fingers again in the bowl, allowing the infused water to pool in my cupped hand. In the distance I could hear hooves against cobblestones and wondered if Jeff was returning from informing the king.
Toe claws clicked on the floor and Laurel grabbed my hand, ignoring the water that dripped onto his fur. He extended a claw to trace over the rune and once again I felt it grow warmer. “You shut your eyes,” Laurel repeated, and I nodded. “And when you opened them the false sorcerers were on the ground.” I nodded again. The sound of hooves came closer and I wondered if Jeff was bringing company. Laurel batted my cheek with his other paw until I looked at him, his amber eyes staring into mine. He shook his head, his beads clicking and swaying. “It is no surprise then that the Magus wants you so badly.”
“What do you mean, Sro Cat?” Suiden asked.
“Rabbit has had no training at all, honored captain.” The Faena shot Suiden a glance. “As it seems that he’s been so busy these past few days that he has had no time for me to even teach him just the basics.”
Suiden waved away mere trivialities. “Fine. He has no training. So?”
The hooves were now close enough for me to tell it was more than two horses. A lot more.
“So he has no idea of how to shield himself. He should’ve been on the ground with the assassins.” Laurel’s paw tapped my cheek again, reclaiming my attention. “Do not worry, Rabbit, this is my embassy.” He dropped my hand and returned to Esclaur.
“What did Lord Teram do?” Javes asked.
“After he finished being outraged, he went out with servants to check the courtyard. I didn’t go with him as I dared not leave Esclaur. He came back claiming that they found no one, and then wondered why Esclaur and I were out there in the first place, as ‘it wasn’t open to the public’ I told him that Gherat sent us out there, but Gherat denied it, said he only told the servant to take us where it was cooler.” I shrugged, sighing. “Which was true. The servant, though, wasn’t anywhere around.” I nodded at the spread cloak.
“They both wanted me to leave that with them, but I told them that I was taking it to you.” A faint smile came over my face as I remembered my cousin’s affronted glare at being denied by his provincial cousin whom he’d graciously admitted into his august ranks.
The hooves were now striking stone in the square, slowing to a stop in front of the embassy. Shouts sounded, the front door crashed open and footsteps pounded into the hallway.
“You know, there are disadvantages to having the Royal Army as guards,” Laurel remarked.